Teodora Soto’s family life was turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic, which made her job as a hairstylist suddenly feel dangerous.

After becoming pregnant, Soto quit her job to stay at home in Bethel Island and keep her unborn baby safe from the virus. But as the pandemic lingered, her husband Antonio’s construction and remodeling work also took a hit — scaled back to 15 hours of work per week.

“We started to have conflicts as he was getting tired, and I was irritated being at home all day,” Soto said. “We even talked about having a separation.”

Soto knew that they needed help. But where could she go? A friend recommended the couple sign up for a workshop hosted by a local nonprofit called the Child Abuse Prevention Council (CAPC) of Contra Costa.

Despite its name, the organization doesn’t just intervene to help families deal with ongoing child abuse. A lot of its work, including workshops, are designed to promote healthy family dynamics and prevent abuse from happening. Each workshop begins with a shared meal, where parents and kids all sit down and break bread together as they discuss whatever is going on in their lives, said CAPC supervisor Maggie Velasco.

After dinner, the parents and children are given separate lessons led by trained professionals who provide guidance on a range of issues, such as navigating mental health challenges and addressing hard-to-discuss topics like intergenerational trauma.

But all this learning isn’t confined to the sessions. “Once they go home, they get to practice and talk about what they are learning,” said Velasco, who helps run the workshops.